Is there any way to "seal" a small paint chip without a clear coat?

[comma]

Quick newbie question.
Someone hit my car and knocked off my mirror, also causing a few nicks in my paint that went straight through to bare metal.

Before it rusts I want to seal it.
I have an OEM touchup pen stick, but if I use this, how do I go about clear coating it? Would a wax work? The nicks are very small, smaller than a pea.

If not, how do you clear coat an area painted with a touchup pen?

Thanks!

 

[Bruno Soares]

If your touch up pen does not have clear on the other side, then it's probably single stage paint and won't require clear over it. But normal protection (wax/seal/coating) is definitely a good idea after you're all done with the touch up.

 

[comma]

If your touch up pen does not have clear on the other side, then it's probably single stage paint and won't require clear over it. But normal protection (wax/seal/coating) is definitely a good idea after you're all done with the touch up.

Is there any way to tell if it's definitely single stage? If it is, will it blend in with the clear coat or be obvious that it was touched up?
(my car is black)

If I don't paint it, does wax/sealant alone work to protect from rust or no?

 

[Belo]

i know dr colorchip doesn't require a clearcoat. Per their instructions i still went over a week after with my LSP sealant. Any protective coating wax, seal or coating is going to be better than nothing and will provide some level of protection.

 

[itsgn]

Some touch up paints come pre-mixed, meaning the clear coat is already mixed with the base color paint. They're easier to use, but the color might not be a perfect match with the original, and because of that the touched up chip might still stay very well visible, even if not obvious at first look.

On the other side, using base paint and clear coat separately to touch up a chip is not easy, and because of that might result in an unsatisfying finish, too. The same thing can be said when touching up relatively old paint (like that 7-10-15 years old), which has faded over the years, and because of that will now not match with the touch up paint, which will be new - unless it also gets "aged" properly.

That said if the color of the touch up paint is relatively close to the original color, it will prevent the scratch "drawing" the eye - so, casual observers won't notice the latter anymore, unless they're specifically looking for it. Also, no matter what color you're using, the touch up paint (if applied properly) will prevent further corrosion of the panel - and that's what's most important about it.

 

[Bruno Soares]

Is there any way to tell if it's definitely single stage? If it is, will it blend in with the clear coat or be obvious that it was touched up?
(my car is black)

If I don't paint it, does wax/sealant alone work to protect from rust or no?

Other than asking who made the paint I'm not sure if there's an easy way to tell. But I'd apply it anyways, even if the color is a tad off, it's better than leaving it unpainted and exposed to elements which will cause rust. Wax/sealant will delay that but some day will degrade and expose the area. Paint will stay there.